Things to See in Montreal

Montréal's Jardin Botanique is the third-largest in the world after London's Kew Gardens and Berlin's Botanischer Garten. Its wealth of flowering plants is carefully managed to bloom in stages. The sprawling rosebeds in particular are a sight in summer. Climate-controlled greenhouses house cacti, banana trees and 700 species of orchid. Bird-watchers should bring their binoculars.

With hardly an inch to spare in its cramped but welcoming galleries, the McCord Museum of Canadian History houses nearly a million artifacts and documents illustrating the social, cultural and archaeological history of Canada from the 18th century till the present.

The Cathedral of Mary Queen of the World is a smaller but still magnificent version of St Peter's Basilica in Rome. The architects scaled it down to one-quarter size, mindful of the structural risks of Montréal's severe winters. This landmark was built in 1870-94 as a symbol of Catholic power in the heart of Protestant Montréal.